


Initial Attraction

by Jos_lynn



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, BAMF Peter Parker, Bad Boy Peter Parker, First Dates, First Meetings, M/M, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24911584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jos_lynn/pseuds/Jos_lynn
Summary: Harley Keener went to Midtown High for the past three years of high school. One day a new kid, Peter Parker, moves to Midtown part way through junior year.
Relationships: Betty Brant & Harley Keener, Harley Keener & Peter Parker, Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 26
Kudos: 237





	1. They Meet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [petersdadtony](https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersdadtony/gifts).



> I had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you enjoy!! 
> 
> Happy Birthday Sarah!!!!

Midtown High was not known for having transfer students come in the middle of the school year, so everyone was pretty curious when a new kid seemed to show up out of nowhere. Harley was able to see this kid in first period when he was asked to stand in front of the room and tell the class a bit about himself. He was on the shorter side but had fluffy brown hair and the kindest eyes he has ever seen on anyone despite the deadpan expression and monotone voice. He was beautiful in Harley's opinion.

"I'm Peter Parker and I like science." Despite the teacher’s insistence of adding more to his introduction, the kid, Peter, ignored her and began walking back to the open desk in the back of the class. Harley snuck glances as he walked down the aisle to his seat taking note of the giant hoodie that basically hid him.

Harley watched Peter as much as he could throughout the morning periods, since they had most of the same classes. He watched as Flash tried to talk to him and immediately got shot down in return, which seemed to upset the entitled boy greatly, but Harley just found it hilarious. He watched as Peter sped through the coursework that was given to him without any trouble in the slightest. The one thing that confused him was that the other boy refused to talk to anyone and seemed content all by himself. 

As Harley sat down with his best friend, Betty, for lunch. He noticed that Peter was sitting with Michelle, which didn't surprise him too much since that table was usually always empty, but did surprise him because they seemed to actually be having a conversation. Usually Michelle would only talk to the decathlon members, and even then, it was only during practice.

"Harls!" Betty exclaimed, snapping their fingers in front of his face, which snapped him out of staring at Peter. He turned around and saw the unimpressed look on their face making his face turn bright red.

"What darlin'?" Betty rolled their eyes as he tried to pretend as if he wasn't doing anything, even though they caught him in the act.

"I know you were staring at the new kid, dummy. Why?" They asked as the both of them glanced back at the boy from across the room.

Harley couldn't help but think that he's especially cute when he's carefree and laughing, but there was something he found off putting. "His name is Peter."

"Oh, did you talk to him? What's he like?" Betty questioned, sounding more and more excited. He wondered why they seemed so excited, but decided not to question it since Betty was known for being a bit weird. 

"No, I didn’t. He only spoke to two people from what I've seen today." Harley informed them, causing them to pout at his words. 

"Who?" 

"Flash to reject him and now Michelle." Harley laughed as he remembered the offended and crestfallen look on Flash's face from that morning. More people needed to be willing to tell that boy no.

"Hmm maybe he's just nervous. New school and all." Betty thought out loud as the two of them watched Michelle lean across the table and punch Peter in the arm. That just made him laugh harder at whatever was happening.

Harley thought about their words, but it didn't feel right. Peter didn't seem like the nervous type however he wasn't really sure how to explain it. "I don't think that's it. He didn't seem like he cared about being here or anything."

"We should go talk to him. Maybe he just needs some friends. He looks nice." 

"Betty. He's been in three out of four of my morning classes and this is the first time I've even seen him smile. He's usually just always deadpan and monotone." Harley was confused on what was so different about Michelle over anyone else in his morning classes that brought him out of his shell. Betty however refused to believe that what he said was true as they shook their head in response. 

"Well he can't be too bad! MJ seems to like him." Harley turned and noticed that Michelle was actually laughing during school. Like, full out body laughing which he had never seen come from her before. "See! She never does that unless she really likes someone!" 

"I don't know Betty. I just don't get a good vibe from him." He knew it was unfair to already think badly of him, but it was hard, since Peter's demeanor reminded him exactly of his old bullies from Rose Hill. 

"Harley you're too critical of people. I'm sure he's very nice and just having a hard time." Betty smiled at him, knowing exactly why he was already against the other boy, but still believing that everybody deserved a fair chance. 

Before Harley had a chance to respond, there was a loud clatter near Peter and Michelle’s table as Flash pushed Ned Leeds' tray out of his hands. The whole cafeteria fell silent as everyone turned to watch what was happening. The silence made it easy to hear what they were saying as Flash made a move to get closer to Ned. 

"Knock it off, Flash. Leave me alone." Ned whispered as he took a few steps away from the bully and his groupies. "Please."

"Oh c'mon fatso. We're just messing around." Flash laughed out as his so-called friends joined in by making derogatory comments. Harley quickly stood up as Flash reached forward and grabbed a hold of Ned's shirt.

"No please…"

"Hey! Don't touch him." Peter yelled as he got up and began making his way towards the two of them. Harley paused as he waited to see what was going to happen, but he kept himself ready in case he needed to jump in.

"What? You mean like this?" Flash asked as he tore the front of Ned's shirt nearly all the way off. Ned tried to hold the shirt together to cover his body as a bunch of other kids started laughing at him.

"That's it." Peter growled as he shoved Flash away from Ned. Flash slammed into the corner of the lunch table and rolled onto the floor out of breath as his lackies began helping pull him up off the ground.

"Watch your back Parker." Flash sneered as he was pulled away. Peter ignored him and quickly pulled his hoodie off so that Ned would be able to cover up.

"Holy shit…" Harley gasped as Peter's arms were left out in the open for everyone to see. He had two full sleeves of tattoos that were wildly colorful and contradicting everything that Harley built up about the boy in his head. "He's hot." 

"And nice. You should talk to him." Betty exclaimed as they began to shove Harley towards the three on the other side of the cafeteria. He tried to deny their wish, but Betty was persistent. "Yes. Go now."

He slowly walked over to the trio who were sitting down at Michelle's usual table, but this time Ned was sitting right next to her and she didn't seem upset about it. 

"Mind if I sit?" He asked as he stood to Peter's left-hand side. He watched Peter and Michelle appear to have a conversation with each other only using their eyes, but finally he turned to Harley and shrugged. He nodded his thanks as he sat down, leaving plenty of space between him and Peter. "You ok Ned?"

"Yeah I'm good Harls." Ned answered as he snuggled into the hoodie that was a bit tight on him, but didn't seem too restricting.

"Thank you for standing up to Eugene. Not many people would have done that for anyone else." Harley nodded to Peter, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah well he's a dickhead, so whatever." Peter answered, back to his deadpanned and expressionless self that Harley knew from this morning. 

Michelle lightly glared at Peter, but Harley knew she wasn't actually angry. "Cheer up loser. Harley is one of the good ones."

"Yet I still can't call you MJ, huh?" He teased as Peter glanced between the two of them and Ned snickered into his hand.

"You gotta work for that right, nerd."

"Of course your majesty." Halrey mocked bowed as Ned started to laugh even harder.

"That's a start." Michelle stated as she pretended to preen under the 'spotlight'. Ned finally calmed down from his laughing when Michelle sat back and grabbed her book again.

"Harley's the one who usually stands up for me when Flash acts like an ass." Ned said as Peter studied Harley for a second before putting his hand out for a handshake.

"Peter." Harley grabbed onto his hand as they both gave a strong shake.

"Harley." He introduced himself. Peter gave him a light smile and Harley felt the breath get knocked out of his lungs. He couldn't help but get lost in the other boys smile.

"Is your friend just going to creepily stare at us or is she going to come over here?" Peter questioned as they released each other's hands. Harley turned and saw that Betty was watching them from across the room. When they saw him look over they quickly gave him a reassuring thumbs up.

"Sorry about them. They just get excited about new people." Harley said as he waited for Peter to say something about 'them' not being a proper pronoun or something.

"Oh well call them over then, I guess. That's better than the staring." Harley must have visibly swooned at the easy change because Michelle smirked at him before making kissy faces while glancing towards the other boy.

Harley quickly flipped her off before he turned and motioned for Betty to come over. They quickly ran over and slammed into Harley as they sat down forcing him to have to practically sit in Peter's lap. 

"Hi there. I'm Betty Brant, nice to meet you." They exclaimed as they held out a hand for Peter to shake. Peter snaked his arm behind Harley's back in order to reach Betty's hand, which they gave an over enthusiastic shake.

"You weren't lying about them being excited." Peter whispered before he pulled his hand out of Betty's grip. Instead of bringing his arm back to his side he kept it wrapped around Harley's back, resting on the seat next to his hip.

"Before Flash decided to be a dick, I was telling Peter here all about decathlon." Michelle informed them, knowing that Betty would be excited about that.

"Oh, do you think you would be interested in joining?" Peter shrugged and gripped onto Harley's hip, pulling him a little bit closer so that their position was more comfortable for the both of them. Harley felt his face go bright red, but he did his best to ignore it as he shifted closer to Peter.

"You should think about it! That would be awesome if you joined." Betty exclaimed as Ned nodded along in agreement. 

"Yeah we would all be there." Harley told him as he motioned to the rest of the teens around the table. Peter perked up slightly at Harley's words, but he didn't seem convinced yet.

"You're on the team?" Harley nodded while Peter squeezed his hip as he kept talking. "I'll think about it." 

"Plus Flash is there and I have no doubt you'd be able to push him into an alternative position." Ned laughed, always happy to see Flash not get what he wants. Harley smirked at the thought of him crying to his parents.

"That would be fun wouldn't it?" Peter smiled as he watched how happy Ned got at the idea. The bell rang, which signaled that lunch was over, but Peter quickly gave Harley one last hip squeeze before going off to his next class, leaving Harley a blushing mess. 

Despite what he was hoping for, he didn't see Peter again until after the final bell as he was walking out of the school. 

"Hey Har." Peter called out as he jogged to meet up with the slightly taller boy. He slowed to a stop so the other boy could catch up to him.

"Hey Peter. What's up?" Harley couldn't help but notice the way the other boy's hair flowed in the slight breeze and how much brighter his tattoos looked in the natural light. 

"I know this is probably quick, but what's the point in wasting time, right? Do you want to go on a date with me?" Peter questioned, sounding just as confident as ever. 

Harley paused as he was caught off guard. "Um yeah. Yeah sure."

"Ok awesome. Tomorrow? Right after school?" Peter asked again as he smiled so bright that Harley lost all the air in his lungs. 

"Yeah ok. Tomorrow." Harley stuttered out as Peter rushed off. He stood in the parking lot for at least ten minutes before he felt stable enough to continue walking home.


	2. The Date

Harley walked to school, both nervous and excited to see Peter. He was half worried that the other boy wouldn't talk to him throughout school and would act like they didn't know each other, but he was also worried that Peter would change his mind about their date and ignore him after breaking the news to him. However, both of those fears were quickly pushed out of his mind as he saw the shorter boy waiting outside of the school for him. 

As soon as Peter saw him he ran up to the boy and started walking in time with him. "Hey darlin'"

"Hey Harls." The boy smiled as they walked into school together side by side.

"You ready for class?" Harley asked as they walked through the hallway after stopping at their lockers to grab everything they needed.

"Ready for it to be over." Peter winked as he stepped into class while the other boy paused outside the door. Harley knew then that he didn't change his mind about their date at all. He walked into class with a bright smile adorning his face.

The two of them sat together in all of their classes. Peter somehow managed to convince the students that sat next to Harley to move without a fuss, but he didn't care all that much. He just enjoyed being next to him, even if he would distract him by holding onto his pinkie or lightly resting his hand on his knee in the middle of their lessons.

The two were walking to the lunch table they sat at yesterday, laughing so loud that everyone was glancing towards them, wondering what was so funny. 

"What's so funny, losers?" MJ asked as the two of them sat down together, practically on top of each other.

"Eugene." Harley breathed out, unable to continue because he couldn't stop laughing.

"He ate shit on the way here." Peter deadpanned, but he couldn't help the smile that started to form onto his face as Harley started laughing all over again.

"He tried to trip Pete but missed and slammed face first into the ground." Harley explained when he slowly stopped laughing. As Harley finished talking, Betty sat down next to the boys with Ned sitting next to Michelle.

"Did you see Flash's face? I wonder what happened." Betty questioned as both boys burst out laughing again.

"Ignore them. What do you mean?" Michelle questioned as she kicked both boys under the table so they would quit being so loud.

"We just passed him. He must have been on his way to the nurse because his nose was gushing blood. It looked broken." Michelle explained what happened according to the boys. Peter leaned into Harley and he wrapped his arms around them as they laughed harder because of Michelle's biased retelling.

"Are you two done yet?" Michelle questioned after another couple minutes of the boys laughing. The other three teenagers shared confused glances as the other two began to calm down.

"Yeah we're done." Harley laughed out as he slowly started to pull away from Peter. However, the other boy kept leaning into Harley, so he kept one arm around Peter's back.

"Right. Did you think about joining decathlon Peter?" Betty asked after the both of them finally quit laughing. 

"Normally we wouldn't let anyone join this late, but I've seen your scores and shit so we are willing to make an exception." Michelle explained, but Peter still looked unsure. Harley didn't notice as Peter kept glancing at him, but the other three teens definitely did.

Ned smirked as he kept slowly trying to convince the boy. "She's the team captain and Mr. Harrington is too afraid to go against her word when it comes to decathlon." Harley nodded his head in agreement, remembering all the times Mr. Harrington wisely ended up going with whatever Michelle wanted to do. No matter how weird it seemed.

"Yeah I think it would be cool." Peter told them as Harley squeezed his waist in excitement.

"Heck yeah dude!" Ned exclaimed, holding his fist out for a fist bump which Peter happily gave him. The other two exchanged happy smiles with the boy. All of them were pretty excited for Peter to join and for Flash to be pushed into an alternate position.

For the next twenty minutes of lunch the five of them discussed everything that Peter needed to know about decathlon while he snuggled himself into Harley's side. MJ pulled Peter away from the group right before lunch ended so that the two of them could go see Mr. Harrington about him joining. That left Harley alone for the rest of the school day to think about their date and whatever Peter had planned for them.

After the final bell Harley slowly walked through the halls, unsure of where he was supposed to meet up with Peter since it was never really discussed. As he walked out of the building, he noticed the boy waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him. Harley grew more excited about their date as he got closer to Peter. 

"You ready?" Peter asked as the two started walking to wherever their destination was.

"More than ready." Harley answered, holding out his hand for Peter to take. The two talked about what had happened after lunch with Mr. Harrington as Peter led them to a small deli shop.

"I figured we could get some to go and then head to Central Park." Harley noticed the hopeful look in Peter's eye and figured that this deli shop must have a stronger meaning to him.

"Sounds perfect." The shorter boy pulled Harley into the store and right up to the front counter.

"Hey Pete. The usual?" The man asked from behind the counter proving Harley's theory correct. He wondered how often he came here in order to have his usual order already known by the employees.

Peter seemed to mine out smashing his sub, but didn't bother actually saying anything. Instead he seemed to trust that the man would know what he meant. "Yes please and whatever my date here wants."

"Date huh? You sure about this kid?" The man asked Harley as he laughed a little. The question caught the boy off guard, who didn't have enough time to say anything before Peter scolded the man.

"Mr. Delmar!"

"I'm just kidding. What can I get you?" The man laughed out as he waved off Peter. He turned to Harley and patiently waited as he decided what he wanted.

"A number five please." Harley eventually decided on the meatball sandwich instead of the Italian sandwich.

"Coming right up." He stated as he yelled the orders to another guy who was prepping the food. Harley flinched at the sudden yelling, not having expected it.

"Sorry about him. I've known him since I was a little kid. He likes to tease me more than anything." Peter told him as he reminisced about old times. 

Harley just studied his face since it was probably the happiest he's seen Peter since they met, which doesn't say much. "It's no problem."

"Peter, food." Delmar called out as he tossed the bag of food onto the counter. Peter slipped him a ten dollar bill before telling the older man good-bye.

"Thanks Mr. Delmar." As they started to leave the shop Peter stopped to pet a fat cat that Harley didn't see until then. "See ya Murph."

The two walked down the street hand in hand, once again enjoying the comfortable silence that fell between them. When they made it to Central Park Peter brought them to the far corner of the park where Harley saw a blanket and some Gatorade laid out on the ground. 

"How?" Harley asked, as a large smile appeared on his face.

"I asked my mom to set this up for us while we walked." Peter explained wringing his hands nervously as Harley beamed in his direction. He loved how much effort Peter put into this very last minute date. "Is this ok?"

"This is perfect." The two sat down and got their sandwiches out. It was a very nice day out and they were sitting in direct sunlight with no shade around them, so eventually Peter ended up taking his hoodie off.

"Ok I know almost nothing about you so let's change that yeah?" 

"Sounds good darlin'. What'd you want to know?" Harley asked as he started eating his sub. He had to admit that this was one of the best sandwiches he had ever eaten in his life.

"Where did you grow up? You definitely don't have a New York accent." Peter questioned, referring to his obvious southern accent and dialect that people that grew up in New York wouldn't have.

"I grew up in a small town in Tennessee but we moved here at the start of high school." Harley explained as he continued to tell Peter about his mom and sister who he lives with. 

"I was born and raised here. I've been to Florida a few times though." Peter told him. The two of them finished off their food as Peter briefly talked about his parents. Harley listened as he talked about his parents who worked at Stark Industries in higher positions of power, but wouldn't say anything more, which didn't bother him much.

"I'm sorry, but I'm extremely curious about your tattoos. Do they have a specific meaning?" Harley questioned after sitting in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Peter clamed up and became visibly withdrawn as he began reaching for his hoodie. "I'm sorry, you don't gotta answer. It doesn't make a difference."

"No it's fine, it's just really personal." Harley winced, noticing the monotone and deadpan expression. He mentally berated himself for overstepping when it was obvious that Peter wouldn't want to talk about his tattoos. The boy purposefully wore a giant hoodie and rarely ever showed his arms, so he should have known better. At least he didn't put his hoodie back on.

"Can we just rewind and go back to learning the small things?" He asked, not wanting to completely ruin their date. Peter nodded his head as he shuffled closer to Harley and laid his head down on the taller boy's shoulder before holding his arms out in front of them.

"The roman numerals on my wrist are for my parents. They died when I was six, so I got their birthdays tattooed on me." Peter slowly explained while Harley shifted slightly as he wrapped his left arm underneath the boy.

"Are you adopted then? You said your mom set this up." Harley whispered not wanting Peter to close himself off again. He could tell he was extremely lucky to be hearing these meanings in the first place and he had no intention of messing it up.

"Yeah I was, so on the bottom of my wrists I tattooed my adopted parent's birthdays on me." He explained as he flipped his arms around where more roman numerals were tattooed.

Harley traced both sets of tattoos causing a chill to go through the other boy. He thought about his own situation with his dad leaving him at four and how he couldn't fathom losing his mom at such a young age too. 

"After my parents died my aunt and uncle took me in, but when I was nine they died in a robbery gone wrong." Harley wrapped his other arm around the boy and pulled him as close as he could. Peter was so strong for being able to go through that, he couldn't even imagine going through all of that. "The left arm is tributes to my aunt and her likes while the right arm is for my uncle."

He told him that everything tattooed there reminded him of her for various reasons. It had her favorite flowers, tulips, the Italian flag, and the colour purple along with a few other small things on most of his arm. The main piece of the sea and a palm tree was on his shoulder because his aunt and uncle met at a resort and she loved to tell that story over and over again.

The right arm was for his uncle Ben and had sunflowers, the New York flag, and the colour green. Just like his left arm the main piece was on his shoulder, which was an apple tree because their first official date was at an apple orchard and Ben carried around a picture from that day with him everywhere.

"You amaze me." Harley whispered as he laid them both down on to the ground.

"What? How?" Peter questioned as he shifted around and laid his head on the other boy's chest.

"You went through all of that and you're still an amazing person. You amaze me." He watched as Peter's face turned bright red at the compliment. He decided he was going to compliment him as much as possible just so he could see that again.

"Harls you barely know me. That's what this date was meant to do." He laughed as he hid his face into Harley’s shirt and laughed with him.

"I don't need to in order to know you're amazing." Harley muttered as he leaned down and kissed the shorter boy's head. "But you’re right. I want to learn everything I can about you."

The rest of the evening the two boys laid with each other as they learned everything they could about each other. Harley told him his childhood life and his passion for building. Peter told Harley his dreams and desires in return.

At the end of the night the two of them split off as they went their separate ways. Harley wouldn't hesitate to admit that this was the best date he could have ever had.


	3. The Bet

Harley practically skipped on his way to school the next morning. He was unable to stop his smile when he saw Peter sitting on the school steps, once again waiting for him. As Peter looked up and noticed the boy walking towards him, he grinned and stood up. 

"Hey sweetheart." Harley muttered as he kissed the other boy's head. He held his hand out for Peter to grab onto if he decided to and they began walking into school.

"Hi Harls." Peter squeezed the boy's hand as he dragged him to his locker and then to first period. The two of them were very close throughout the morning and it made a couple of kids curious, starting gossip about them that they both ignored.

As they walked to lunch hand in hand, they discussed their next date idea. "I'm free on Friday?" 

"Ok yeah, that sounds good. This time it's my treat." Harley announced, not giving Peter the option to disagree.

Peter just smiled, enjoying that Harley wanted to take care of their second date. "Sounds like a plan. What are we doing?"

"I'm thinking maybe an arcade. How does that sound?" There was a pretty well known arcade about a block from their school, which Harley enjoyed spending some of his free time at and he thought Peter would like it too.

"Like a dream." Peter told him as they sat down at their lunch table.Everyone was already sitting and staring at them with big smiles on their faces.

"Pay up." Betty demanded as they held out one of their hands to Michelle and Ned who both grumbled slightly as they each pulled out twenty dollars.

"Awe come on how did you know?" Ned whined, seeming much more unhappy with whatever was going on than Michelle was.

"I know my best friend."

"Nice going Brant." Betty blushed as Michelle smiled at them while giving them their money. 

"Um what are you talking about?" Peter questioned, feeling kind of uncomfortable with whatever was going on.

"We bet on when you guys would get together." Ned grumbled as Betty began to flaunt that they won the bet.

"What? Why?" 

"Because you had heart eyes as soon as you guys started talking." Betty explained to Harley as his face went slightly red at being called out. 

"Yeah it was obviously going to happen at one point." Michelle continued winking at Peter who's face also started going red.

"No it wasn't." Harley muttered not liking that he was so predictable.

Peter on the other hand was more concerned on the bet itself. "Who bet what?"

"Betty bet you'd go on your first date within a week. I said after a month and Ned didn't think you two were into each other." Michelle explained as Ned grumbled to himself some more. Harley wasn't able to understand what he was saying, but whatever it was made Peter laugh slightly.

"Thank you for the forty bucks."

"I figured you would have been able to resist tall, blond, and southern for a bit. I now realize how much of a mistake that was." Michelle told Peter, making him laugh and lean into Harley's side as she smirked. 

"That's so not cool. Why would you bet on us like that?" Harley grumbled, still not liking the idea of the bet. 

Everyone around him just rolled their eyes as Betty waved him off. "Shut up. When's the second date?"

"Friday." The two shared a smile as Betty and Ned made cooing noises from behind them. Harley ignored his friends as he pulled Peter's hand into his, happy with how the last three days had turned out.


End file.
